They didn't have elegant names, nor a brand-name college ahead of them. But after the Crash, even a humble raven might count herself luckier than a human. Now, something was changing the corvids. They were picking out human words on scraps of wilting paper in the hallways.

With all the humans gone, the birds supposed, somebody was going to have to read what was left behind.

John Sweeney is a concept artist in Los Angeles. See more of his breathtaking work on his website.